What is you definition of a climbing route?

My definition is "A climbing route is an imaginary line on a rock wall or an artificial structure that represents the path taken by one or more climbers during a continuous bottom-to-top ascent." What's yours?

Is a completely bolted route  still a route if nobody climbed it (yet...) ?
Does a top rope first ascent of a line legitimate it as a route ?

Perhaps, maybe, sometimes. On the other hand possibly not.

I believe that's called a "project"

But yeah, it's also a route. 

verticon wrote: Is a completely bolted route  still a route if nobody climbed it (yet...) ?

Does a top rope first ascent of a line legitimate it as a route ?

Sure - someone has demonstrated it can be climbed start to finish.

verticon wrote: My definition is "A climbing route is an imaginary line on a rock wall or an artificial structure that represents the path taken by one or more climbers during a continuous bottom-to-top ascent." What's yours?

I would just remove the word “imaginary”. Every route I’ve ever done is very much real...unless I’m having one of those nightmares. 

Cron wrote:

I would just remove the word “imaginary”. Every route I’ve ever done is very much real...unless I’m having one of those nightmares. 

Actually, not imaginary line at all but a "connect the dots" series of holds, since a route can exist independent of bolts as in top rope or trad.

Paul Deger wrote:

Actually, not imaginary line at all but a "connect the dots" series of holds, since a route can exist independent of bolts as in top rope or trad.

By imaginary I mean the line is not a material feature, we just know that somebody climbed along it turning it into a "real" route but it's not marked on the wall.

Corollary Q - what does it mean to "put up" a route?  That phrase has always irked me a bit. It makes perfect sense in the gym, but "putting up" a trad line with no fixed gear... c'mon.

Gunkiemike - I think of putting up a trad line as putting in the work to clean it up enough that it takes pro and isn't raining death down on your belayer. Unless it's more of an alpine adventure route, then I think it means that you've proved its possible to get up without burying yourself forever in a heap of choss.

It's a lifelong journey climbing friends! 

Gunkiemike wrote: Corollary Q - what does it mean to "put up" a route?  That phrase has always irked me a bit. It makes perfect sense in the gym, but "putting up" a trad line with no fixed gear... c'mon.

Think multilingual. People share an idea with words as they see fit. You understand the concept, so accept that they use different words that you happen to not prefer. Hope that helps. 

Moving forward.